The present invention relates to the field of online communications, and more particularly to a method, apparatus, and business system for online communications with diverse online and offline recipients.
The internet is rapidly becoming a preferred means of communication for professionals, businesses and consumers. Communications conducted via the internet include sending and receiving e-mail messages and disseminating information via web sites. But even for the most xe2x80x9cwiredxe2x80x9d businesses and professions, internet usage is less than 100%. Accordingly, heretofore there has always existed a degree of uncertainty as to whether an internet user who wishes to communicate with a given business or professional (such as, for example, a doctor or a dentist) via the internet will be able to do so because the intended recipient may or may not have an existing internet presence that can receive the user""s online communication.
Even if the intended recipient has an appropriate internet presence, a second element of uncertainty exists with respect to locating the proper e-mail address or website URL for the intended recipient. Although a number of online search and directory services exist that are intended to help a user locate the website or e-mail address of a business or person with which the user desires to communicate, use of such directories is tedious and often unsuccessful.
The present invention overcomes the limitations of the prior art by providing a method, apparatus and business system that allow a user to quickly communicate online with a member of a particular business, professional or other group regardless of whether the member has an internet presence (e.g. e-mail address or website) and without the user needing to know or find the internet address for the recipient.
The present invention comprises a method, apparatus and business system for allowing on-line communications with members of a group of recipients for whom the invention has been implemented. A group may, for example, comprise members of a particular business or profession. For example, a group may consist of doctors admitted to practice in the United States. Individual members of the group may or may not have existing internet presences (as used herein, the term xe2x80x9cinternet presencexe2x80x9d refers to an internet e-mail address and/or website, or other means for receiving or sending communications via the internet). The invention allows online users to communicate with each member of a given group regardless of whether or not the member has an existing internet presence. In one or more embodiments, the invention does so by setting up a database of contact information for members of the group, creating an internet presence for each member of such group, creating an on-line user interface allowing a user to access the member""s created internet presence, and providing means of communications between the created internet presence and the member recipient. The invention allows a user to communicate with an intended recipient who is a member of a group for which an embodiment of the invention has been implemented using the created internet presence, regardless of whether or not the recipient has a pre-existing internet presence. In one or more embodiments, if the recipient has a pre-existing internet presence, online communications from a user are transparently forwarded from the created internet presence to the recipient""s existing internet presence. In one or more embodiments, a xe2x80x9creply toxe2x80x9d address is created for a sender/user and added to e-mail messages sent by the user so that any reply message from the recipient will be returned to the sender via the sender""s created address. In one or more embodiments, when a sender""s e-mail message is replied to by the recipient, the reply message""s xe2x80x9creply-toxe2x80x9d address is replaced with a created e-mail address for the recipient, so that the reply appears to have been sent from the recipient""s created e-mail address even if it has been sent from a different e-mail address. In one or more embodiments, if an intended recipient has no pre-existing internet presence, online communications from a user are converted into one or more forms of offline communications, according to information contained in the contact database. For example, in one or more embodiments, e-mail messages from a user sent via the created internet presence of an offline recipient are converted to fax messages, voice-mail messages, or other off-line forms of communications (as used herein, the term xe2x80x9conlinexe2x80x9d refers to communications via the internet, whereas the term xe2x80x9cofflinexe2x80x9d refers to non-internet communications), as appropriate. In one or more embodiments, means are provided for receiving reply messages from an offline recipient via offline means, converting such messages to online messages, and delivering them to the original user with the appearance of having originated from the created internet presence of the original recipient.